democracy-ethnic conflict
Does Democracy encourage ethnic conflict? Examples from Sri Lanka and Canada: This essay explores the connections between democracy and ethnic conflict in two cases of recent history -Sri Lanka and Canada. The experience of both countries with varied degree of conflicts shows that democratic institutions are not sufficient to prevent conflict and in sharply divided societies may even foment it. The case of Sri Lanka suggests that redesigning democratic institutions in order to reduce conflict may actually accentuate it. Looking at the Canada from the consociational perspective helps us to understand how the democracy in Canada works successfully, why it works in a particularly elitist way, and which problems Canadian political institutions have in managing ethnic conflict. Sri Lanka has seen intractable and brutal civil war between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. Post-independence shifts in the political leadership of the Sinhalese elite from a secular, liberal attitude towards a more chauvinistic, nationalistic one led to changes favoring the Sinhalese in lin
Moreover, the resistance to sharing state power has been emphatically seen as a virtue among the elites and ethno-political cadres (Sinhalese as well as Tamils), and to a considerable extent among the masses too. Without the coincidence of ethnicity and territory, it seems unlikely that French Canada could have persisted as a distinct cultural identity. Four out of five Quebeckers are French Canadians, which has remained fairly constant over the last 40 years. The form of democracy in Canada according to Lijphart theory is a , "a multiple balance of power among the segments in a plural society is more conducive to consociational democracy than a dual balance of power or a hegemony by one of the segments" . This balancing act gives us an idea why Canada is relatively stable on the one hand, and why it faces problems in maintaining its national unity on the other. Indigenization and domestication of democratic institutions and practices has occurred in such a way that they are presupposed to serve exclusive sectional interest. 2 percent - are concentrated in the province of Quebec. However, one can speak of the inferiority of the French-Canadian segment. This fact has profoundly increased the political salience of two other cleavages, culture and religion. In societies where ethnic-based parties are likely to dominate, the distribution of political patronage by the parties in government is likely to exacerbate economic inequalities among ethnic or regional groups rather than to decrease them. The geographical concentration of French Canadians makes it possible to maintain their cultural diversity. Therefore, Sri Lanka has had democratic institutions, yet still has longstanding conflict. As McRoberts argues, "even if some dualistic practices, such as alternating the Governor-Generalship, might suggest a political equality between Francophones and Anglophones, the reality has been otherwise" .
Common topics in this essay:
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Sri Lankan,
French Canada,
Francophones Anglophones,
French Canadians,
Tamils Post-independence,
Lanka Canada,
Provinces Rising,
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Similarly Canada,
sri lanka,
democratic institutions,
ethnic conflict,
french canadians,
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sri lankan,
inclusive government,
political culture,
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Acceptance Essays
